Milton Keynes Community Café to be supported by Starbucks

Sammy Jones

Starbucks has announced the extension of its Community Café programme, which supports dedicated local community spaces up and down Britain with product donations - and it's good news for a project in Milton Keynes.

This latest expansion, in partnership with Neighbourly, will see Starbucks support a further 16 not-for-profit cafés, adding to the four it has supported since the programme piloted in August 2017.

Milton Keynes Snap is among those set to benefit from the expansion.

The café in Walnut Tree is run by young people with learning disabilities, who make the baked goods that are served.

The learners use the space as an important socialising space to bring their peers.

All kinds of members of the community pop in for a cake and a coffee and the local parish council often hold their meetings here.

The café relies on donations of tea and coffee from companies such as Starbucks to help ease running costs, allowing them to focus our resources on supporting the young people and providing a service to the community.

As Starbucks celebrates its 20th year since opening in the UK, the expansion of the Community Cafés programme marks its continued commitment to supporting the communities close to its stores.

Through this partnership, all 20 cafés will have the ability to place regular orders in the same way a Starbucks store where they can order essentials such as tea, coffee and milk jugs to help sustain their integral community space.

As a founding partner, Starbucks has worked with Neighbourly since 2014 to deliver support to hundreds of local community causes across the UK.

These small charitable spaces have experienced large falls in income from contracts between 2008/9 and 2012/13 (32 and 37 per cent respectively)*, and this partnership with Starbucks will help them to continue to provide the space, support and guidance for their visitors.

Nick Davies, founder of Neighbourly.com, said: “Many community cafés across the UK are struggling with funding and the resources to maintain the level of service their communities need. Their importance to so many people is undeniable, whether they focus on youth, social isolation, exclusion or homelessness. We hope our support and donations will go some way in making sure that cafés remain an integral part of the community for years to come.”

Clare Walker, communications director, Starbucks EMEA, said: “Since our earliest days we have recognised the importance of Starbucks stores’ role in the communities they serve, and our community café programme in the UK is a great way to celebrate this and collaborate with vital café spaces. In Starbucks 20th year in the UK, we’re proud to extend our programme to 20 community cafes, linking them to local stores and supporting the invaluable work they do in their communities.”